Dose Rates From the Accidental Withdrawal of a Fuel Element From an Open Pool-Type Reactor

Abstract

This paper studies the radiological consequences resulting from withdrawal of nuclear fuel element (FE) from a core of open pool type reactor during normal operation. The FE withdrawal accident may be occurred due to human error during routine transport of spent FE process or from failure of FE clamp during reactor normal operation. For both cases, the FE will move vertically upward toward pool water surface. In case of accidental failure of fuel clamp, a negative reactivity insertion in the core after FE withdrawal and the reactor will be shutdown. MCNP5 code was used in this study to calculate the radiation dose rate levels in the reactor hall and inside the control room during FE withdrawal. The results show that the operator in control room will receive dose rate lower than permissible dose rate limit when FE reaches at depths more than to 211 cm for vertical FE and at depths more than to 246 cm for horizontal FE.